Best Bottle List

The Sovereign’s bottle list has everything a beer nerd could want: Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen, De Cam! Throw a dart and you’ll hit a great beer. But there are ways to maximize even this most labyrinthine of large format lists. My advice? Treat it like you’d budget a travel itinerary. Want to take a big vacation? Swing around continental Europe with bottles from France’s Thiriez, Italy’s Toccalmatto, Belgium’s De Ranke, and Luxembourg’s Fantome for less than $100. Feeling patriotic? Stick stateside: $35 is the cost of a bus ticket to Tennessee’s Blackberry Farms, Michigan’s Jolly Pumpkin, or Missouri’s Perennial (plus, The Sovereign’s seats sure beat Greyhound’s). The jet-set type? Go with short-bottles from Quebec’s Dieu du Ciel, Oklahoma’s Prairie, and West Flanders’ Westvleteren—all for less than 50 bucks. The potential to travel is only limited by your creativity (and a good beer buzz). The best part: You can go back to Georgetown anytime you want, head down an alley, and start a brand new adventure.